NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-15-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: February 15, 2025

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NPR covers the stories that shape our world. Whether you're here for news or culture or good conversation, we're proud to be here for you. Federal funding helps keep the public radio network strong and available to all for about a dollar and sixty cents per person each year. Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org to learn more about safeguarding public media's future. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. At the annual Munich Security Conference today, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz likened Vice President JD Vance's speech yesterday to interfering with Germany's upcoming election.

NPR's Rob Schmitz reports from Munich. A day after Vice President Vance lectured European leaders on allowing far-right and populist parties more space in the political sphere, Chancellor Schultz sharply criticized Vance. He pointed out that a day before Vance made that speech, he had visited the Dachau concentration camp and said the Holocaust should never happen again. Yet said Schultz, the very political forces and ideas that created the Holocaust are now again present in Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, whose members have trivialized the horrors of Nazi Germany's role in World War II.

Scholz says Germany does not accept people from outside interfering in its election, and where its democracy goes is for the country to decide. Rob Schmitz and Peer News, Munich. Also at the conference today, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky called for the creation of a European army. He said the continent can no longer be sure of US protection. Hamas freed three more hostages today as part of the fragile ceasefire which began last month. NPR's Adil El-Shalchi has more from Tel Aviv. The three men are 36-year-old Sagih Dekelkhen, who is an American Israeli, 29-year-old Russian

Israeli Alexander Trupinov, and 46-year-old Argentinian Israeli Ya'ir Horn. Like in the previous releases, the hostages were led onto a stage flanked by massed armed Hamas militants. Each hostage gave a short speech in Hebrew calling on leaders to work harder to release the rest of the hostages held captive. So Horn looked like he had lost a lot of weight, but overall the men looked much better physically compared to the last group of men released last week. Those men were very gaunt. NPR's Hadil El-Shelchi, as part of the agreement, Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The National Weather Service is warning of the potential for life-threatening flash flooding this weekend. The greatest risk is in parts of northwestern Tennessee and western Kentucky. Karen Zarr from member station WUKY has more in the story. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch that covers the entire state of Kentucky, prompting Governor Andy Beshear to issue a preemptive state of emergency. We hope it continues to move northward and misses most of Kentucky, but we have to prepare

for significant rain. The Kentucky Emergency Operations Center and units of the Kentucky National Guard have been activated. Beshear has also activated the state's price gouging laws, which makes it illegal for businesses to raise prices on necessary goods and supplies during an emergency. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr in Lexington. This is NPR News. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, rebels backed by Rwanda have captured Bukavu, the

second largest city in eastern Congo. Thousands of residents are fleeing the city. The rebels had seized the largest city, Goma, last month. African leaders fear the conflict could escalate into a wider regional war. President Trump this week became the latest U.S. president to say he wants to kill the penny. As NPR's Maria Aspin reports, both Republicans and Democrats have tried and failed for decades to get rid of the one-cent coin.

There are some 240 billion pennies in circulation, but most of them are just sitting around not being used. That means the U.S. Mint keeps on making more of them and losing tens of millions. It costs almost four cents to make each new one-cent coin. President Trump says he's ordered his Treasury Secretary to stop making pennies. And unlike most of Trump's recent executive actions, this one is getting bipartisan support. Philip Deal is a Democrat who ran the Mint in the 90s. He's been calling for the end of the penny since then.

All for it and long overdue. Some other countries have already stopped producing their pennies. For example, Canada phased out its one-cent coin more than a decade ago. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. Hockey players from the U.S. and Canada are to compete tonight in the Four Nations Face-Off. The game takes place in Montreal. Canadian sports fans have been booing the US national anthem since President Trump

threatened tariffs and suggested that Canada should become the 51st state. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington. There's been a lot of attention on loneliness lately. 16% of Americans report feeling lonely I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.